The Election Commission of India unveiled the first draft of Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral roll on August 1, 2025 — listing 7.24 crore names after a months-long door-to-door enumeration that ended on July 25. The move, part of a sweeping cleanup ahead of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha Election 2025, is the most ambitious voter roll update in the state’s history. With 98.2% of documents already submitted as of August 24, the Commission is on track to finalize the list by September 30 — just weeks before the election is expected to be announced.
How the Revision Unfolded
The enumeration phase, which ran from June 24 to July 25, 2025, saw over 4.89 crore existing voters assisted by trained Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in filling out forms. These weren’t just updates — they were verifications. Every household was visited. Every identity cross-checked. And every discrepancy flagged. The goal? To remove the dead, the migrated, and the duplicated — while ensuring no eligible voter slips through the cracks.
What emerged from the data was startling: 65 lakh names vanished from the rolls. These weren’t random deletions. They were deliberate cuts — voters who had passed away, moved out of state, or appeared more than once. That’s nearly 8% of the voter base as of June 2025, when Bihar had 7.89 crore registered voters. The scale of cleanup stunned even seasoned election observers.
But the purge wasn’t the whole story. In its place, 21.53 lakh new voters were added — mostly young adults who turned 18 or will turn 18 by October 1, 2025. Another 3.66 lakh names were removed during scrutiny after being flagged as ineligible. The net result? A cleaner, leaner, more accurate roll: 7.42 crore voters, confirmed by News on Air.
Who’s Running the Show?
The entire operation is being managed by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar, under the direct supervision of the Election Commission of India. Across the state’s 38 districts, 243 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and 2,976 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) are working in tandem, reviewing claims and objections. The deadline to submit documents? September 1. The deadline to decide on them? September 25. And the final roll? Published on September 30 — just in time to lock in the voter list for the upcoming assembly election.
What’s unusual here is the speed. The ECI noted that document collection is likely to finish ahead of schedule — a rarity in past revisions. “Just like collection of Enumeration forms, work related to collection of documents is also likely to be completed before time,” the Commission said in a statement. That kind of efficiency hasn’t been seen since the 2019 general elections.
Why This Matters
This isn’t just bureaucratic housekeeping. It’s political armor. In a state where elections are often decided by razor-thin margins — sometimes under 1% — even a few thousand misplaced or missing voters can change outcomes. The SIR process was initiated after a petition by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which had raised alarms about inflated rolls and ghost voters. The ECI didn’t just respond — it acted with unprecedented precision.
And the stakes are higher than ever. The Bihar Vidhan Sabha Election 2025 is expected to be a referendum on the ruling party’s performance and a litmus test for national opposition coalitions. With over 7 crore voters eligible to cast ballots, every name on the roll carries weight. The Commission’s move to update the rolls with a reference date of July 1, 2025, means no one who turned 18 after that date will be able to vote — a deliberate cutoff to prevent last-minute manipulation.
What’s Next?
While the voter roll is being finalized, the ECI has already moved to the next phase: logistics. On August 24, it issued a Short Term Request for Proposal (RFP) for a GPS-based vehicle tracking system — with submissions due by October 13, 2025. This isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about transparency. The tracking system will monitor the movement of electronic voting machines, ballot boxes, and security personnel — a direct response to past allegations of tampering and delays.
Residents are being directed to the official portal, voters.eci.gov.in, where they must fill out “Annexure D(Bihar)” if they need to make changes. The Commission has made it clear: if your name isn’t on the final roll, you can’t vote. And if your name is there, you’re expected to show up.
Historical Context: A Pattern of Reform
This isn’t the first time the ECI has launched a Special Intensive Revision. Similar exercises were carried out in West Bengal before the 2021 assembly elections and in Assam ahead of the 2024 polls. But Bihar’s scale is unmatched. With a population of over 12 crore, and voter turnout often exceeding 70%, the state is a political bellwether. The last time the rolls were overhauled so thoroughly was in 2018, before the 2020 panchayat elections — but that was local. This is state-level, high-stakes, and nationally watched.
The legal backbone? Section 13B of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which empowers the ECI to revise rolls at any time — but typically reserves such intensive efforts for major elections. The Commission’s actions this year signal a new standard: accuracy isn’t optional. It’s mandatory.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I check if my name is on the Bihar electoral roll draft?
Visit voters.eci.gov.in and search using your EPIC number, name, father’s/husband’s name, or polling station details. If you’re not listed, you can file a claim using Form 6 before September 1. Over 98% of documents have already been submitted, but late filers still have time — though decisions will be made only if proof is received by September 25.
Why were 65 lakh names removed from the rolls?
The deletions targeted voters who had died, migrated out of Bihar, or were registered more than once — often under different names or addresses. The ECI used biometric and Aadhaar-based cross-checks with state death records and migration data. This is standard procedure, but the scale in Bihar was unusually large, reflecting years of accumulated inaccuracies in the roll.
Who qualifies as a new voter in this revision?
Anyone who turned 18 or will turn 18 on or before October 1, 2025, is eligible. Over 3.28 lakh such individuals submitted Form 6 during the SIR process. The cutoff date of July 1, 2025, ensures no one can sneak in after the roll is finalized. This prevents last-minute registrations — a common tactic in past elections.
What happens if I miss the September 1 deadline to file a claim?
You won’t be able to add your name to the final roll. The ECI has made it clear: no exceptions after September 25, when all claims and objections must be decided. Even if you’re eligible, missing the window means you’ll have to wait until the next revision cycle — likely after the 2025 elections. That’s why the Commission is pushing hard for early submissions.
How will the GPS tracking system affect voting?
The GPS-based vehicle tracking system will monitor the real-time movement of EVMs, ballot boxes, and security convoys during polling. This prevents tampering, theft, and delays. It’s a direct response to past incidents where machines went missing or arrived late. The RFP deadline is October 13, and the system will be operational by polling day — making this the most technologically monitored election in Bihar’s history.
Is this revision legally binding for the 2025 election?
Yes. The final roll, dated July 1, 2025, is the legally recognized list for the Bihar Vidhan Sabha Election 2025. Any changes after September 30 require a court order. The ECI’s authority under Section 13B of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, gives it final say — and this roll will be used to print ballot papers, assign polling stations, and verify voters on election day.